Introduction to “The End Is Just The Start of It All”

An Answered Prayer that Doesn’t End

The End Is Just The Start of It All – Part 1

Are you dedicated enough to see your thirty-thousand-foot prayer through to completion? At this point, you’ve covered much ground and have just about completed the original conquest you set out on. Are you willing to see your prayer request through to the end? Most are not. It changes them too much. They are unwilling to step away from their ordinary habits and comforts. This prayer takes too much time. In fact, in this fast paced and impatient society of ours if it’s not quick and easy then it’s not worth waiting on. Well I have some news for those with a thirty-thousand-foot prayer and dream, be careful what you’re asking for. A thirty-thousand-foot prayer will not only be a challenge but will change your life. Are you ready to have your life altered in this way? Altered by a God-sized answer? If so, continue on this journey with us.

One writer states, “finishing is better than starting.”¹
‭In this series set, we have four messages to convey as it relates to finishing what started out as a thirty-thousand-foot prayer. I’ll summarize them here for you.

Your prayer has altered your life.
This is an unexpected result; you never prayed so that your entire existence (life) would be altered. If you haven’t noticed it yet, God uses prayer not for one purpose, but for multiple purposes. Every prayer is multi-purposed and as you’ve walked the journey carved out by the thirty-thousand-foot prayer you’ve prayed, you’ve changed. You have been changing from day one when you invite God into your world. When you begin to reflect back you’ll notice that the prayer that was intended to help another or to bring change to your world has ultimately changed you. We will discuss this in more detail.
The more you pray, the better you get.
Like any exercise routine, the more you do it, the easier the workout moves become. You can finally keep up with your trainer and can anticipate the next routine. Prayer is the same, the more you do it, the better you become at it. You will no longer look for words to say or need a reminder to pray. You have to admit that when you complete a physical workout, you feel like you have achieved something. The same is true when you go through your prayer workout. You feel like Heaven has heard you. In fact, you know that Heaven’s heard you because you have received a response. Your Heavenly trainer is next to you giving you instructions, encouragement, motivation, and support. We will discuss this in more detail over the next several installments.
You must be prepared for the business of prayer.
Prayer has a business side. There was no way I could leave this out. While there are people who don’t take prayer quite this seriously, the truth is, prayer has a business side. For those who don’t, their results show it. Nonetheless, Jesus in His disciplined prayer style provides us with an indication that prayer has a business side. I like to think of it this way; if you were going to meet with the President of the United States on an issue wouldn’t you be prepared? Sure you would. You prepare when you have to speak with the executives on the job. How much more respect should we have when meeting with the CEO/Founder of the Universe? There is a business piece to it that we must prepare for when we pray. In this section, we’ll help you prepare for the business of prayer.
If you run to God in prayer, He runs towards you with more.
I call this the scary part of prayer. Any time we run at something like an animal, the response we expect is for them to turn and run away. We don’t expect the animal or whatever it is to continue in our direction with more intensity. That’s not what God does, if you run towards Him, He’ll run toward You. But think about this, what does it look like when God runs at you?
Let me paint this picture. What if you sent a simple email to the CEO of your company and they got on a plane to come see you face to face because of it? How would you feel? What if the pastor of the church heard your complaint and they came to meet with you at your home? What would you think or say? What if the governor of your state heard what you thought of how they were running things and she/he decided to drop what they were doing to come visit you? How would you really respond? Now, when God shows up at your door, would you really open the door and let Him in? We will discuss what that could possibly be like over the next few installments.

While your original prayer request may have been completed, you’re left with more than you originally asked. You thought that which you asked for was huge, but what you got in return was far greater. It’s not over. That’s what a thirty-thousand-foot prayer looks like. That’s what a person who regularly exercises prayer looks like. When God speaks to you, do you really think it’s going to be simple? There is not one person in your Bible who heard God speak and His response was something simple, tiny, or small.

Question: what is that humongous idea that you have in your heart that could have only been placed there by God?

Thanks for visiting NoLongerCommon.com. I am so excited to begin this section of “The Thirty-Thousand-Foot” Prayer” because I know you will never view prayer the same. Share this with a friend.

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